The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College The Grammar Business Part 1 2. Why homophones cause problems

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College 2` What’s a homophone? A word that sounds exactly the same as another word that means something different Examples: ware/where/wear week/weak grown/groan there/their/they’re write/rightknow/no soul/solelead/led

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College 3` Dangers of homophone errors They can make you look unintentionally foolish They aren’t picked up by spell checks, because each version of the word IS in the dictionary

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College 4` So what’s the answer? Know your weaknesses Check for yourself whenever one of YOUR traps come up - using a personal method or memory trick Don’t rely on a spell check. If you know you make errors regularly, get another reader to run an eye over the work.

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College 5` Self test Try the exercise in Handout Three Compare your results with the answers Look at the memory suggestions